How the enemy uses fake news to undermine Ukraine's reputation among US Republicans
As the elections in the United States approach, Donald Trump's chances to win look real.
Maksym Skrypchenko, a Ukrainian expert and the president of the Transatlantic Dialogue Center, was one of the few Ukrainians invited to the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, the event where Trump was officially confirmed as the Republican candidate.
Events and discussions at the convention show that myths and falsehoods about Ukraine are popular among Trump supporters.
Skrypchenko believes that at this stage, Ukraine has lost the information war. However, not all is lost yet.
Read more in the article – We lost the information war. How Trumpists believe fake news about Ukraine and prepare to lead the US.
One impression from the Republican convention is that Trump's party members are absolutely convinced about the election outcome. There was a total celebration of victory.
This creates additional risks if Trump loses the election and Kamala Harris wins.
While I don't want to discuss apocalyptic scenarios, it’s a fact that American society is extremely polarised.
Ordinary Republicans are already very radicalised.
When asked how ordinary Republicans feel about Ukraine, there is no simple answer.
On one hand, they sympathise with Ukraine and are not pro-Russian. When they learned that I was from Ukraine, they first asked, "How are you surviving there?"
But then they always ask: "How do you feel about President Zelenskyy buying several villas in Miami with stolen American aid money?" This question is shocking at first, but it’s posed by many and presented as an indisputable fact.
They also add that Olena Zelenska bought a luxury Bugatti and spends $40,000-50,000 daily on gold jewellery.
Everyone mentions the same figures, matching details, always referring to the Bugatti and Miami–indicating a common source of such "news."
However, they are also open to arguments. During the convention, I convinced about a dozen people I had time to talk to. While hundreds of thousands of Americans remained in the grip of their beliefs, continuing to spread these fakes.
Thus, we must acknowledge that in this regard, we have already lost the information war.
Another extremely important factor harming Ukraine is the myth about the persecution of Christians.
Several religious leaders approached me personally, all repeating the same thing: "Ukraine persecutes Christians and bans church activities."
This, of course, refers to the Russian Orthodox Church, the "Moscow Patriarchate."
While it’s obvious to us that the fake news about "Christian persecution" is spread by Russia, Americans don’t understand this.
The only effective argument was my personal explanation that I, as an Orthodox Christian living in Ukraine, can assure you that the Ukrainian state does not persecute or restrict me in my faith.
This situation indicates that the US lacks people who can explain from the Ukrainian pespective what is happening – thoroughly, substantively and with arguments effective in the US.
Overall, within the Republican Party, there is no unified stance on Ukraine. There are about a dozen camps with completely different views.
At the same time, Trump-wing Republicans acknowledge that they cannot "abandon" Ukraine.
We have a high chance to steer their policy to a point that exceeds positive expectations.
Donald Trump visiting Ukraine would be undoubtedly beneficial for it, considering his high chances of winning. But it would also help him gain votes. We need to convince him of this.